Posts Tagged ‘Australia’

Having seen some of our earlier work the owners of this extraordinary oceanfront site invited us to submit ideas about what a new house there could look like. They had lived in a simple cottage on the site for several years before and therefore had an intimate familiarity with the advantages and disadvantages of living in this spectacular but exposed spot.

The design process, complex due to several defining key issues inherent to the site, ended up taking us through some radically different sketch options before settling on the one that was finally pursued.

Stone House is the alteration to a single storey vernacular house in the rural landscape setting of northern NSW Australia. The original house was built with local materials and craftsmanship. Over the years various additions were made to the house exhibiting the different layers in its occupation.

Architects and interior designers are amongst the biggest supporters of lighting design. They have a clear understanding of how lighting can enhance a space they have created. They also appreciate the consequences of poor lighting.

And so it was when award winning lighting consultancy PointOfView was briefed by architects Bates Smart to light their new Sydney Studio located in a 1940’s built, art deco designed, former offices of the 20th Century Fox Film Corporation.

Tony Owen Partners have just completed the Focus Apartments in Parramatta, Sydney. The 15 storey tower by Merhis is Sydney’s largest fully steel framed apartment building and contains 120 units in 2 towers. The steel structure also uses lightweight Hebel floors and walls and is the first of a number of projects being developed by this group. This prototype building explores different techniques to achieve a high quality design at a lower price point. The use of steel resulted in a lower cost and faster construction.

The new Curtain Apartment building by Tony Owen Partners Has just been approved at Wolli Creek near Sydney Airport. The 200 apartment building is located at the waterfront and has panoramic water views of Sydney’s skyline. The Curtain also fronts onto a large park and Botany Bay. The design is unique in that all apartments face north to the view. This ensures all units have wide frontages and all rooms have balconies to take advantage of the site. In addition, almost all are ‘thru-units’ running north to south. This is achieved using open rear access corridors on the south which are accessed from external, lift towers. As a result all of the units are naturally ventilated. This minimizes energy costs making this a highly sustainable design.

The Melbourne is a 20 storey residential tower located on Brisbane’s Southbank. Melbourne Street occupies an important link between Southbank and the CBD and between the riverfront cultural precinct and the interior of Southbank. It is one of the major gateways to the city.

The ‘Raw Australian Shed’ by Kennedy Associates Architects has been shortlisted in the 2014 World Architecture Festival Awards for the AGL Lakeside Pavilion at the Australian Botanic Garden in Sydney. Drawing together two highly symbolic concepts: the semi permanent theatrical marquee and the more permanent vernacular shed, it’s a generous building that inspires and lifts you.

Fugitive Structures in an architectural design competition commissioned by SCAF (Sherman Contemporary Arts Foundation) in Sydney, Australia. It is an invited competition, run annually over four years that seeks to showcase emerging architects from Australia, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The brief was to explore the potential of digital pre-fabrication. In 2014, AR-MA were successful in securing the commission.